The Cursed
by TearsOfDiamonds
Summary: "I'm dying. I've already lived more than double the expected time. I can't tell them. I can't put them through the agony of feeling helpless. I can't stay. At least this way they can have hope that I am alive, and have to not suffer under the weight of knowing that there is no chance of seeing me again. I cannot risk hurting them if I don't escape in time. I have to leave."


CHAPTER 1 

Azure skies stretch into the distance, a light breeze carries the scent of newly bloomed flowers through a town basking in the new warmth. The sun sits high in the sky, glinting off the river's surface, creating a doorway into a similar world before it ripples and disappears in the wind. The raised cobblestone path runs alongside the shimmering mirror, with countless people walking along it. A typical day in the small city of Magnolia, and it was on one such day that our story begins...

Lucy Heartfilia, a member of Fairy Tails strongest team, balances precariously on the edge of the path. Deep in thought she barely acknowledges the young fishermen calling out to her to be careful, simply raising her hand to show she heard and continuing on. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration and a troubled look in her eyes, she traipses along with slouched shoulders towards her guild, and for once there is no celestial spirit in sight. Her hair is blown out behind her, lacking its usual lustre, instead slightly knotted with minimal effort being put into it. Her clothes are rumpled as though she had just risen from bed despite the time and her belt sits crookedly on her hips. The normally neat and pretty young woman looked rundown and beaten.

She tugged at her long sleeve blue top, pulling the sleeves down to cover the bandages underneath, grimacing as a sharp spike of pain lances up her arm. Her black jeans and high black boots were a contrast to her normally bright, colourful attire. Sweat trickled down the back of her neck as she warmed up in the sun. She sighed sadly, she wouldn't be wearing this if she did not have to, and she could imagine the strange looks her guild would give her if she walked in as she was, but she couldn't help it.

She had been promised it would be quick. Three years ago she had been promised she would not live much longer. She had been given a year at most, and he seemed happy with that. It was long enough for her to suffer horribly, but short enough that she would not be able to achieve anything in that last year, and he could laugh as he watched her struggle. But he never stayed. He did not stay to see what were supposed to be her final days.

'He probably just couldn't stomach the sight of his dead victim,' she though bitterly, 'maybe if he had have stayed, I would not have had to live with the pain, maybe he would have ended my life at that one year mark.'

She kept her eyes on the road ahead of her, waiting to reach the guild she had been a part of for five years – not counting the seven she lost on Tenrou Island. It had been near the end of her third year as a Fairy Tail mage when it had happened. She had gone on a solo job as the rest of the team, along with several other guild members, had been sent to various guilds with messages of apology from Master Makarov – a routine occurrence at the end of each year due to the damages racked up by Fairy Tail. It was a simple mission, with just enough of a reward to allow her to pay her rent with a bit to spare; Go to the town of Harcourt and find the cause of a 'curse' that had been placed on several citizens.

She had taken the train overnight to reach the small rural town and once there had immediately set out to find out exactly what was wrong. She was horrified to see the effects of the curse, especially as it harmed both the victim and those around them. The curse itself caused sudden spasms of intense pain at random times, which got worse as time progressed and soon began to effect the victims close surroundings. Because it was caused by magic, the worse these episodes were, the harsher the magical aura that appeared around the victim during them was, and this aura eventually begins to cause visible harm to the cursed and their surroundings. The town had no records of anyone living for more than one and a half years, and Lucy was determined to stop the people from suffering. The mission was harder than she had expected but she completed it, however this was not without a price. Lucy was unable to incapacitate the mage who had committed the act, and he escaped, but not before he decided to punish the one who had found out his game. Having been forced to lift the spell from the villagers during the battle to preserve energy, he used the last of his energy to curse Lucy herself, telling her about her new fate as she writhed on the ground in pain whilst the curse set in. She had approximately one year to live. If she told anyone, he would curse them as well. She would die knowing that she only delayed him and that he would simply move onto another town after her death.

"It would have been better that way." She muttered, as she drew herself out of the past.

She should be dead by now, she should be long gone. The pain should have been over, the hiding and lying to her guild should have been over, the miserable excuse for a life that hers had become should be over. But instead fate has gone against her. She has endured the torment for more than double the time she should have been able to, maybe it had something to do with the fact that she was a mage. She knew she was stronger than the average human but she was by no measure strong in the world of mages. So why has she lived so long?

She sighed as she drew near the imposing building of the Fairy Tail guild, she stopped in the middle of the street and just stared at it, drinking it in as she came to a sudden decision. She walked forward, wincing as the bottom of her left foot took her weight – it still had not healed after an episode the other day which had left her panting and dripping blood on the floor of the forest near Magnolia. They were becoming more and more frequent and have begun to leave serious physical wounds. Her once perfect skin was now marred with overlapping scars and bruises, covering her stomach, back, limbs and neck. She had the occasional cut on her face, after not being able to cover it completely during an episode, but she managed to play them off to the guild as sheer clumsiness. Things were getting worse. The past four months had seen a severe increase in the amount of episodes and she knew that she would not be able to excuse her sudden sprints out of the guild hall for much longer. Some members were already suspicious. She had to stop them finding out! She couldn't let them get hurt! She had distanced herself as much as she could without being too obvious, telling her teammates to spend time with the rest of the guild more, and sinking into the shadows as much as she could, trying to get them used to life without her so it would not hit them too hard when she died.

She pushed open the guild doors, wincing slightly as they creaked, attracting the attention of a few guild members who waved before returning to their conversations. She looked around the hall to see if any of her team were back from their errand and relaxed her tense form slightly when she realised they weren't.

She walked over to Mira at the bar and sat down on the far stool, playing with her keys as she waited patiently for her to notice the new presence. Mira was busy talking animatedly to her younger sister Lisanna, before Lisanna realised Lucy had arrived. They walked over and Lisanna smiled warmly as Mira prepared Lucy's usual strawberry shake. Since her return, Lisanna had become the sister Lucy had always wanted. Her closeness with the rest of Lucy's team meant that they spent a lot of time together and often found themselves wiling away the hours chatting about the changes in the guild since before Lisanna left and after Lucy arrived. Lucy smiled wanly in return, trying not to grimace as her wounds were irritated by her clothes. She took her drink from Mira before moving slowly to the back of the guild. She settled in a darkened corner and looked at the crazy guild she had come to adore.

Macao and Wakaba were sitting with Cana both had mugs of beer, and Cana sat there with her usual barrel. Their cheeks were slightly flushed and their eyes sparkled as they laughed and sang together. Romeo was sitting with Wendy who had a slight blush on her face, as she giggled at one of his jokes. Charla, who was never too far away from Wendy, sat nearby as she tried to stop Happy from giving her anymore fish. Lily sat on Gajeel's shoulder as he stood, chuckling, next to Levy, watching her as she scolded Jet and Droy for being too overprotective. Mira, who was taking a break from bartending, sat with Laxus and the Raijinshu, blushing every so often as Laxus turned to talk to her – Lucy would have to remember to tell Lisanna to do something about that before the end. Juvia sat at a table with Bisca, trying to make her understand exactly how much she missed her 'Gray-sama' whilst he was away, and Bisca was trying to escape to Alzack before she was drowned by Juvia's tears.

Lucy smiled her first genuine smile in months as she sat quietly and observed her family with all their interesting quirks and strange habits. She watched silently, a laugh threatening to bubble over, as Mirajane ramble on to Evergreen about how sweet she was with Elfman and what their children would look like, as a blushing Evergreen tried to threaten Mirajane into being quiet. She glanced around the hall and she knew she couldn't do it. She couldn't place the burden of her death on these cheerful people – so many of whom had already lost so much. She couldn't risk hurting one of them during an episode. She couldn't be the cause of that torture. Lucy rose, grimacing at the pain she was sure she should have been used to by now.

"I guess you never really stop feeling pain do you." She muttered bitterly under her breath.

She made her way back to the bar, placing her half finished drink on the bench. Lisanna looked at her worriedly, unused to seeing such a sad, resigned look in the blonds warm brown eyes. She watched as the Celestial Spirit Mage made her way to the guild's doors, slouched over with a defeated air about her. She saw her stumble a bit before righting herself and continuing on. When she reached the doors, Lucy turned once more to glance around her home, catching the worried look on Lisanna's face she mustered up a smile and a wave – which felt more like a grimace and jerk of her hand, but it did the trick and Lisanna smiled and waved back, losing the worried look and seeming more relaxed.

She shuffled out the doors and made her way to an alley nearby, picked up a small duffle containing a few belongings, and took a quick glance around before setting her resolve. She would not cause the guild any more pain than she must.

"Better they search for me with a hope that I am alive, rather than suffer under the weight of knowing there is no chance of seeing me again. I cannot risk hurting them if I don't escape in time for an episode" she whispered, trying to convince herself, more than anything, that this was the right thing to do.

She turned away with a determined look on her face as she began to walk. A tear leaked out of the corner of her eye, slowly becoming a steady stream.

"I have to leave. I have to leave because I love you all too much to see you hurt. Please understand this in your hearts, even though you will never know why I'm gone."

* * *

**I do not know whether I should continue this or not. This is the first chapter, and I would like to know what its reception is, so please review so I know whether or not I should continue. If I do decide to continue, I most likely will not be updating until mid-January, or when I have almost finished and I know I will not be stopping in the middle of the story :)**

**Thanks, ToD**


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